cathal

I think Hapkido uses Gup instead of Kyu, and I'm pretty sure it's 5th Gup / 5th Kyu

I'm liking it the more I do it. It seems well-suited to just about every body type, but the kids seem to enjoy it a lot more.

OK one thing you might want to do is chat with someone in a social group. There are such things as social activist groups, that are allowed to check into churches & groups which some may fear to be a cult. This ia usually a pretty safe way to check into a group in case you are afraid for your friend. I'm not sure about Argentina or I'd suggest something specific, so instead I'll suggest you consult with your local municipal government representative, or maybe even a police officer. They can maybe direct you to one of these groups.

That's a major cause for regret, having such an over protective parent. I just heard that she won't be enrolling her child in our dojo right now though. They might be back when the next class begins, we'll have to see.

The most common price I'm seeing is $120. I wouldn't pay that much for any pair of nunchaku unless they are for show.

I changed a great deal after training. I am more self-confident, more outgoing, and definitely much more physically fit. I train regularly and put everything that I am into my training, so I get a lot out of it.

I've heard that before, "secret" techniques, etc. That is a major cause for concern. I just move on whenever I encounter it.

I think it's great, we only started using this exercise and I can see so many applications and subtle lessons here.

Yesterday we learned a new exercise meant to show us that you do not need a lot of room to practice Karate. So long as you have enough room to drop into a stance you have enough room to practice Karate. This is best practiced with 5 people, one in the centre. The four are standing around the center person, all of whom are within striking distance. All one has to do is drop into a stance and then perform a punch to strike the person in the center. They are positioned as though they were in a square, rather than at the four cardinal points of north, south, etc. The people on the outside will only be doing a lunge punch to the head. The center person starts by going into (left leg forward) front stance (zenkutsu-dachi) with a left arm upper-rising block (age-uke). Then, very quickly, changes their front leg & performs a straight punch. The person who was behind & to the right of the center is now directly behind the center person. This person comes in with the face-level lunge punch their right hand. The center person turns in place (morote), so that their left leg is forward in zenkutsu-dachi as before. Another left-arm age-uke is performed to block the punch. However the rear leg goes to the ground, and the counter attack is perfomed simultaneously in the from of an upper-rising punch (age-zuki). The person who was behind & to the left of the center moves in for a left-hand lunge punch to the head now. The center person rises up into horse stance (kiba-dachi) with a high outside-inward block (jodan soto-uke) to block the punch. Counterattack is a quick left-shift & hook punch. The last person is the one who was front & to the right of the center. They execute their lunge punch which is performed with the right hand. The center person shifts to the right into a right-leg forward zenkutsu-dachi. The center person does a simultaneous block/counter in the form of a mountain punch (left arm is high, right arm low). In all after a few times practice you have a good feel for some in-place technqiues which aren't too repetitious. As well, with some of the advanced students, you can vary some of the counters, and experiment with some knee-balance disruptions (carefully).

Welcome

Welcome to the forum, nice to meet you.

Yes that's the best part.

I'd always recommend the master text by Gichin Funakoshi. What do you teach?

If you're under the age of 16 then it is a common misconception that you can stunt your bone growth. It is a myth though, so don't worry.

I'm just gonna go to kata until I'm so tired I can't care about being nervous.

Good job. What exactly do you for Hapkido gradings?

Wow Member of the Month AND Purple belt. Good job Zorba.

It's always great to hear feedback like that. I'm glad the community was able to hlep you out. Congratulations.

My vote would be a bottle of sake but there are different types of what we call sake. Depending upon where your sensei is from I can let you know the best type for you to purchase. Just let me know. If you decide to go with something other than sake, try seeking a traditional calligrapher. That person can use their talent to write something for your sensei. For example one of their dojo kun (e.g. one of ours is "Seek Perfection of Character"). On that paper the artist may include plants or animals, or a custom border, etc. Something like that will vary in cost from artist to artist, but in any case it is tasteful and not so expensive that you will look absurd for offering it.

One year before you become an instructor is definitely much too soon. In your other post you mentioned it was a cult of sorts, though. I'm not sure about your local laws about that sort of thing but is there a regulating body in Argentina for Martial Arts clubs, or sports groups? Even if there is something like a Better Business Bureau you could consult. But another important thing to keep in mind is if you accuse someone of operating a cult you need to be certain of a lot of factors. If that sort of thing is truly illegal in your area you should consult with a legal counsel or police officer to get advice before going ahead with something like that.

I tend to agree, conditioning is everything. That is where it boils down to the individual. I wholeheartedly believe that when it comes to your own personal training, conditioning, and personality, they are the major factors in determining how successful you will be in a physical fight. At the same time I can't ignore the mental aspect of a person's training. Meditation, mental discipline, and the development of Ki/Q is going to be a factor.

Is there an issue where anyone has had to deal with parents who were too involved?

Regrettably we have a parent in our dojo like that. She drops her kid off to something every night of the week. EVERY NIGHT...no exceptions. It's quite sad.

It was a lot of electrodes on the people's bodies. They had normal people as well as exceptional people like professional athletes, martial artists, zen practitioners, etc. I can't seem to find the information but I am going to try hunting it down. There was also some interesting work with polygraphs, since they measure things like that as well.

Hey I don't get confused, I get dead wrong. No wait that sounds even worse... OK confused.